Elleon Grif
by Tex 30
Summary: Greatest Freelancer of all time? That's Elleon. Agent Elleon Reklaw is from the Reserves. She'd fallen for a Red that no one respected a long time ago, before they'd even met. She has problems with all the other Reds and his sister, but they learn to get along. Plus, what's a Freelancer without a couple of A.I.s? Full of action. Tucker x Sister. Church x Tex. Grif x OC.
1. Homecoming

I turn around, "Dex! Why are you here? I thought you were supposed to be in Blood Gulch."  
He puts one hand on my back, "Sarge let me off a little early."  
I look up at him, "You've gotta stop just coming here instead of doing your job!" He raises his hands in offense.  
I go back to my work and he whispers in my ear, "You know I just always have to see you. And I worry about you."  
I can't stop the smile slowly spreading across my face now. Grif has that effect, always making you happy so you can never be mad at him for long. I try to cover up my smile by putting both hands over my face.  
"Hey, don't stop smiling, you know I love it when you smile."  
I peek out, "Stop it Dex, now you're just messing with me."  
He turns me to face him, "You say that every time and it's never true."  
"You always win," I say, and before I kiss him he says, "Not always." I lay my head on his shoulder and absorb the warmth coming through his suit.  
"What would I do without you?"  
He simply says, "I was just thinking the same thing."  
Okay, me and Grif have been together for a while. Its been like fifteen months. I'm sure it would be longer if I had gotten hooked on his work sooner, but that's not what happened.  
"Dex, go get me another pile since you're staying here." He listens to what I say, doesn't fight it. I guess he thinks he owes me for coming 'home' early again.  
He comes up beside me, "Look, do you want to know the real reason I'm here right now?"  
"Wait, you lied to me? That's a first Dex." I just stand, awestruck, staring at him.  
He lowers his head, "It wasn't entirely a lie, Sarge did let me off early. He just let me off because my sister is there again." He looks back at me finally and I look down at his empty holster. Sure enough, he's scratching at it.  
"I sigh, "Stop it Dex."  
He immediately shoots his hand away from his side, "Sorry."  
"You could have told me your stupid, annoying, little sister is there." I plop down on my bed and he sits down next to me. "Can we go to Blood Gulch? I can help deal with your sister."  
Grif grabs my hand, "Let's go." I smile and he powers up the portable teleporter Doc had made with the help of Simmons.  
We step through and in a flash of green light, we are standing in Blood Gulch; the device back in Grif's hand. "Let's go find my suits that should be ready," I smile at the lie. He nods and we head toward Red Base. As we are coming up, Simmons is at the door.  
He yells inside, "Um Sarge, she's here!"  
Sarge emerges from the base, "Hello there! We kind of figured you'd be paying us a visit today. Your suits came in today."  
"Can it Sarge, that's not why I'm here and you know it." I stand up in front of him and take the Battle Rifle Grif is handing me, "Where is she?"


	2. Sister

Donut comes running up and when he sees me with the gun he starts to turn around, "Okay, I'm gonna go back to the crazy one." He doesn't even have a chance to walk away, I snatch the teleporter out of Grif's hand and am in front of Donut in instant. If I didn't have a gun he would have run away screaming, but since I do he squeaks: "Please don't hurt me!"  
Simmons edges toward the inside of the building, and I point the gun towards him. "Hey, I just want to go inside!"  
"You're all staying right here. I have a plan in which you will be quickly briefed upon."  
Grif walks up to me, "Hey, can I have that back?" I hand him back the teleporter and he sticks it to his holster.  
"Dex, go inside and get my suit that matches yours ready." He salutes me, making me laugh, before walking inside the base.  
I begin to brief everyone, "Do you know who I am?"  
They all reply: "Elleon Reklaw!"  
"I am the greatest Freelancer of all time." Donut nods. "I have joined your team. You do not know that I am a girl. Dex, sorry, Grif is my partner. Do you understand?"  
Sarge is reluctant but chimes in with the other Reds, "Sir, yes, sir!"  
"Good, you do understand. Get back to normal, as you were." I walk into the base and Grif stands guard while I change into my suit. "Perfect fit unlike the last one," I examine my new suit.  
Grif turns around from his post, "You can't even tell who you are without the Battle Rifle and Magnum." As a reply, I pick up his Battle Rifle and throw it back to him. We go to the armory and I load our Magnums. He slides his into his holster with a sigh, "It feels good to be fully armed again." I slide my Magnum into the holster of my new suit and grab my own, freshly loaded, Battle Rifle.  
We head out, back to the front of the base. "Nobody ask me any questions unless they require a 'yes' or 'no' answer." They all nod in agreement. "Dex, stay by my side. Sarge and Simmons, I don't care what you do, just stay out of my way. And finally, Donut, take us to Kaikaina."  
Donut stops in his tracks, "Who?"  
"Grif's sister!" I snap. He immediately starts jogging up in front of us toward a crater behind the base. "I should have known," I whisper to Grif. He nudges me to signal that he heard me but we are very close to her. He can feel it.  
We are ten feet away from the ditch when she begins to stand up. She looks straight at Grif, ignoring me. "Grif!" She squeals at the sight of him.  
"Oh god," I think.  
When Grif finally pries her loose from him, she looks at me, "Oh my God! Are you who I think you are?" I nod.  
Grif speaks for me, "This is Elleon Reklaw, my partner, greatest Freelancer in the universe." She starts jumping and squealing with excitement. While she is distracted, I slug Grif. No flattery. I am undercover. Grif groans but recovers quickly. "Do you want to go in the base?" he asks his sister in order to shut her up. God, she is annoying.  
She fully examines me when we finally stop in the center of the base. "Did you lose weight?" I shake my head and desperately look at Grif.  
"Elleon had a suit too big during the war when you saw." Grif needs an award for avoiding telling the gender of a person, he is a life saver.  
"Can you speak?" she asks me.  
"Elleon can speak. Right Agent Reklaw?" I nod slowly towards his sister.  
Apparently we had underestimated her irritability level as she snaps at me, "Then say something!"  
I reach for my Magnum but Grif stops me, "Don't."  
"What was that about?" she freaks. I look over at Grif and he nods.  
"Don't you ever talk to me like that again!"  
She stumbles, "You're a girl?"  
I smack her as hard as I can, "That's right, I am." She is left awestruck.  
"Why are you here then?"  
"I have my reasons just like you!"  
"You're here to see Grif?"  
"I can see Dex any time I want to!" Oops, I let it slip. I watch Grif's body tense up as she looks at him and then back at me. I can tell Grif is holding back that F- bomb, then again, so am I.  
"Who do you think you are, calling my brother by his first name, and not even that, a nickname?" I clench my fists, so ready to hit her again.  
Grif sees me, "Don't do it." She looks at him, then back at me and my fists, then back at him.  
"Are you defending her?"  
"What's it to you?" I say and take a step toward her. She knows better than to stay where she is and takes a step back.  
"Ellee, no," Grif is trying to protect me and his sister.  
"What?! What is this?!" She is flipping out toward him.  
Grif sighs and is about to answer his sister when Donut, who apparently was listening, interrupts, "She's Grif's girlfriend!" I whip around with my Magnum in hand and he makes himself scarce.  
"Fiance," Grif corrects him.  
I watch as she tenses up and then just lets her arms hang loosely beside her. "How could you not tell me?" It was a rhetorical question.  
"I'm not actually a Freelancer either, and I chose to stay on Red Team." I show her a little sympathy, she is Grif's sister after all. "Dex, I'm going to get on my other suit." I leave the room.  
"Don't freak out when she comes back. She may have on blue, but she's on our team."  
I walk back in wearing my cobalt- turquoise colored suit, "It's kind of tight. I think I preferred your huge suits to this."  
Grif looks at me, "It's not fully connected."  
"I couldn't do it! It is way too small. I can't get out." I take off my helmet and Kaikaina gasps.  
"I can't believe you can fight!"  
"I don't look that good, do I?" I look over at Grif.  
"How am I supposed to answer that? I love you!"  
"Fine, but can you help me out of this suit?" He looks at his sister and I continue, "I put on a tank top and my shorts. Relax!" He struggles and finally helps me get the top part of my armor off. I hit the release switch on my boots and take them off. When I stand back up, Grif is staring at me.  
"What?"  
"Is that one of my undershirts that shrunk?"  
I look down at the black tank top I'm wearing, "Yeah, why?"  
"You did realize there's a big white 'G' on the back, right?"  
I bite my lip, "Oops. Is that bad?"  
He laughs, "Not really. The 'G' fits you really well is all." I can feel my face turning red. I look at his sister to see how well she's taking all this. She is rubbing the toe of her right boot on the floor. That's why Grif was talking. I look back at him and he's staring at his sister. No matter how annoying she is and how many times Grif threatens her, he still loves his sister.  
I feel bad for the earlier scene, "I'm not stealing your brother, you know?" She looks at me and nods. She starts to take her helmet off and I know she's crying. I look at her face for the first time. No wonder Tucker did what he did. I realize I have my Magnum still in my hand, and as Kaikaina hugs me I slide it into Grif's extended hand.  
When she lets me go, I start taking off the bottom part of my armor, that is still on. Grif has to help me again. While he tries to pry apart part of my armor, I speak to Kaikaina. "You're prettier than me, you know that, right?" She smiles at me. "I'm telling the truth, which is why I don't understand why Tucker didn't get you to stay."  
"I don't think he loved me. He just loved the way I look." She must be badly hurt by the fact that Tucker didn't try to get her to stay. If he'd asked, I'm sure she would have.  
I stand here, not as beautiful as her, in my black tank top and camo shorts, and realize I am loved more than her. That is part of the reason she had been set off. "I'm going to talk to that jerk," I am determined to fix every problem, including those that were partially my fault. She smiles at me and I make a generous offer, "Care to come with?" In reply she puts her helmet back on. I get my orange suit back on and Grif hands me back my Magnum. I put it back in the holster and pick up my Battle Rifle. Grif and Kaikaina do the same. "Let's go give Lavernius Tucker a wonderful surprise." I can feel Kaikaina's radiance at the thought.


	3. It Went Wrong

Outside, Donut is kicking at a small patch of grass and Simmons stands admiring the Warthog. When Donut sees the three of us emerge, he runs to Simmons, causing Simmons to turn around toward us. I walk up to them, Grif and his sister still at my sides, and smack their heads together. "Ow!" Donut simply says and starts to walk away.  
"What'd you do that for?" Simmons questions my motives. Beside me Grif stifles a laugh.  
"You should have kept better track of him!" I point towards Donut and press Simmons against the Warthog.  
Grif adds, "While you're messing with my toy, since I'm the only one who can drive worth a damn, you should probably clean it. Oh, and that's not a suggestion." Grif looks at me for reassurance. I simply cock my Battle Rifle and Simmons is off to work.  
As we walk away, I slug Grif again. "Ow! What was the second one for?" Kaikaina tries not to laugh.  
"That's not going to work for you every time Dex."  
He looks at me, slightly confused, "Are you sure about that?"  
I nod and his sister chimes in, "Yes." My points are getting across to her. She asks as Blue Base comes into sight, "When did you hit him the first time?" I laugh.  
"You were too busy jumping around and squealing."  
She pauses for a while and then replies, "Oh."  
I continue, "Flattery is not something to use undercover, is it Dex?"  
He tries to defend himself, "You said that you were the greatest Freelancer of all time before that!"  
"Everyone calls me that, Dexter Grif. You made it specific to you by saying 'in the universe'."  
He laughs, "You know I had something against you! That's why you called me Dexter Grif, instead of Dex! Oof!" We arrive at Blue Base and Grif is so distracted that he runs into the wall. Me and his sister burst out laughing.  
Caboose comes out of the base when he hears us. "Hi," he says, noticing me he adds, "Who are you trying to kill this time?" Kaikaina looks at me. I growl at Caboose.  
"I'm here to fix a problem, not create one."  
"Tell that to Tucker," he says as he inches, then runs away from us.  
I smack my forehead, forgetting that I am wearing my helmet, "Ow."  
Grif laughs, "Ha! Who's the stupid one now?" I raise a fist at him. "Okay, okay! Geez! I was just joking around!"  
Kaikaina asks me, "What happened between you and Tucker?"  
"Let's just say it didn't involve just me and Tucker." I look over at Grif, who is now casually leaning against the base.  
"Tell her the whole story," he says, looking at me.  
"Fine," I reply to him. I turn to his sister, "Simmons first found out about me, then Sarge, and Doc kind of had to."  
"Wh-"  
I cut her off, "Don't worry about it, just like Grif didn't about Tucker for you." She is confused, but that was part of the point. Grif is covering his visor with his hands and shaking his head.  
"Ellee," I hear him say.  
"Anyways, the first time I came to Blood Gulch was to reveal myself. We let everyone know about me and Grif. Tucker got mad. He hated that Grif had found someone that he loved, and loved him back, that wasn't related to any of them. I was getting ready to go back home that first night. I had been talking to the rest of Red Team and hadn't seen Dex since he went to clean the Warthog himself. I went to find him before I left. Just to let you know, I was wearing a set of Dex's armor. I felt weird not looking like the rest of them." She nods and I continue, "I couldn't find him at Red Base, so I headed over to Blue Base. When I got there Church and Caboose were on the roof. They ran inside when they saw me coming toward the base. I met them at the door, confused. They kept telling me, 'We tried to stop him', 'He wouldn't listen!' It made me mad, I didn't know what they were talking about. I was about to ask them what they were talking about when I heard a blow land. Church and Caboose tried to hold me. I broke free of their grip. I was infuriated, I didn't even need a weapon, I saw how battered Grif was and I went crazy. Tucker didn't even see me coming. The first blow knocked him off his feet. He was stunned and didn't block the second hit. He caught on afterwards, but I was making sure I hurt him as much as he hurt me and Grif. I literally beat him within an inch of his life. Everyone had to drag me off of him. I don't know how I was so strong, but I was. Grif and Tucker spent weeks off duty for their injuries, Tucker spent over a month. They were ordered to stay away from each other for the longest time. That incident is how my Freelancer legend started. I took my anger to the battlefield sometimes. Tucker is still my favorite on Blue Team, I just hated him for what he did. Whenever I was around him, I was on my defensive. He tried to fight me, but I hit him first and knocked him flat on the ground. He hasn't tried anything with either of us since he realized he was never going to be able to change anything. I don't want to hurt him, or anyone else here, but he needed it, deserved it."  
Kaikaina looks partially horrified as she takes off her helmet to look at me. I take mine off too, only to reveal that I am crying. I hate how I can't control what I do to protect myself. I love Tucker too, just not like Grif. Tucker is a friend, I haven't proven it lately though.  
"He could have gotten Caboose to attack me, but he didn't. Maybe he was going to teach me something that one time, but I don't know. I reacted on reflex after the first time. Maybe I have strength like Caboose." I try to compensate for what I'd done.  
Grif finally shifts, "If you did, you would have killed him." He walks over to me and puts his arm around my shoulders. I lay my head on him. Tucker must have heard everything. As Kaikaina puts her helmet back on, he comes out of the base finally.


	4. Reunion

At the sound of footsteps on the ground, Grif flinches. He slides his arm off of me, and grabs the handle of his Magnum. I put my hand over his that is on his gun. He loosens his grip and eventually slides his hand into mine. Kaikaina is behind us and she walks out in front of Grif. Tucker immediately looks at her. She takes a step forward and Tucker walks up to her. She takes off her helmet and he follows. He strokes the side of her face with one hand, then he kisses her. Kaikaina finally has her answer, Tucker really does love her. Their wordless display of affection showed this.  
When they finally separate, Kaikaina starts crying. She collapses to her knees. Tucker slides down with her. He does to her what he also needs, as he hugs her close to him. His face is red and he's trying not to give in as Kaikaina has. He picks up his helmet off the ground and pulls something, attached to a string, out of it. He finally speaks, "I meant to give this to you before you left." I finally see what it is as Kaikaina bursts into tears, again. It's a ring.  
I look at Grif and realize I can't feel my fingers anymore. I look down at our hands and see he's squeezing my hand tightly. He feels the same as his sister about them finding someone to love. After all, their mother did leave them. "Dex," I say to get his attention. He looks at me and sees the painful smile on my face. He releases my hand and I sigh.  
Tucker looks over when he hears me. Kaikaina takes the ring, and they stand up, hands intertwined. They walk up to us and Grif speaks first, "Nice one Tucker."  
"Thanks Grif, and sorry for fighting you that night. That day was exactly a month after she left. I couldn't control my reaction." Tucker had finally apologized.  
"You know, that's exactly how I felt after I saw how you had beat him," I finally voice my thoughts of that night that I've kept so long.  
"It's okay, we were in the same position." Tucker has what he needs, he no longer holds onto the past. "No hard feelings man?" Grif nods to Tucker. Tucker looks at me for an answer too. Instead of just nodding or saying 'yes', I hug him. He pats my back and simply says, "Thanks." I let go of him and it's just us two happy couples left staring at each other in silence.  
"Hey! Hey, you guys!" Simmons comes running toward us. "Sarge wants you to-," he stops short. "What the hell?" He stands frozen on the hill at the sight of me and Grif, Tucker and Grif's sister all together without any violence at all.  
"It's a long story!" Grif yells to him.  
"Sarge wants you guys to go investigate the disappearance of Church some more. He also said that he wanted you four to do it because you guys are the most capable?" The three of us without our helmets put them back on. We're ready for a mission together.  
"Where are we headed?" I call out to Simmons.  
"I don't know, Sarge wants to tell you in person!" he replies. We head back to Red Base, Grif's arm across my shoulders, Tucker's across Kaikaina's.


	5. We're Going Where?

Simmons keeps looking back at us as if we are the most dangerous people in the world. We probably are with Church and Tex gone, Felix dead, Locus separated from crime, and the Meta missing. Except Caboose. Simmons begins to look back more frequently as we near the base. Finally, I have had enough, "Will you stop that?!" He launches into the air.  
"Why?"  
"I am not going to kill you, and neither is anyone else. You've survived this long without being shot."  
"Good point," he says after listening to my reason.  
We are at Red Base. Simmons goes up to the roof and we all go inside. "Idiot!" Tucker whispers to himself. Sarge turns around when our footsteps echo into the center of the base.  
"I see you all are getting along just fine!" he says to us.  
"Don't be so smug, Sarge." He twists his head towards me at the sound of my voice. "We're not predictable; you were on the roof while me, Dex, and Kaikaina were in here, and we all were pretty sure she would solve Tucker's issue. That's the reason you called her to Blood Gulch and sent Dex home," I had his plan laid out in front of his face. Tucker sighs as I finish.  
"Well done, you should be a detective or something. That's part of the reason I want you on this mission though. We need some intel."  
"Why my sister Sarge?" Grif is curious.  
"I've learned by watching you and Church, when he was here, that you fight better alongside someone you love, your significant other."  
"So you don't know it's going to work with me?" Tucker asks.  
"Not for sure,-" Sarge starts but Tucker interrupts him.  
"And am I really that predictable?"  
"Yeah," me, Sarge, and Grif answer in unison.  
Sarge continues, "But you all are going to Sidewinder and could use a little extra warmth."  
"Right, that's Church's original outpost, so we might be able to find some traces of him there," I have to add.  
"How are we getting there Sarge?" Tucker asks.  
"I wrecked the ship again," Kaikaina adds.  
"Simmons!" he yells up. Simmons jumps down into the base. "You can fix that ship, can't you?"  
Simmons stutters, "I- I don't know Sarge. It looks pretty bad."  
"Oh," Sarge thinks for a moment, "Then you can take the Warthogs."  
"I thought I was the only one fully capable of driving," Grif says.  
"Only on our side Grif," Sarge replies, "Tucker, you get the other."  
"We better head back to our base then," Tucker pulls Kaikaina out with him. As they are walking away, she turns and waves excitedly at us. Even Tucker can't make her completely sane.  
"I hope we're not going to be there long," I say cautiously.  
"Why's that?" Sarge looks confused.  
"I don't want the fuel lines in the Warthogs to freeze." It's hard to believe Sarge doesn't know that.  
"Just park them inside the bases. It has heating in there."  
"It'll block a quick escape, but okay," I am testing Sarge.  
"You'll be on your way then." He passed.  
We head out to the Warthog and Grif checks the gas. "Full tank. Simmons must have filled it earlier," he says after examining the instruments. Tucker comes flying over the hill.  
"Whoo- hoo!" I hear Kaikaina's voice traveling through the air. Tucker skids to a stop, covering us with dirt and grass.  
"Tucker, I'll kill you!"  
"Yeah, you already tried to do that, so let's not do it again."  
Grif turns toward our Warthog, "Man! I just had Simmons wax this thing!"  
I hop in the side seat, "Guess who's riding shotgun today?" Everyone laughs and Sarge comes out of the base. We all stop.  
"What about a shotgun?" he asks. We all laugh again.  
I kick my feet up onto the dashboard, "Hey, Sarge, I said I'm riding shotgun."  
"That's not funny. That is my seat, you don't sit in it however you want, young lady! That's an order!"  
"Please, Sarge, I outrank you. I'm a Freelancer," I scoff at him.  
"Freelancer or not, that's my vehicle!"  
"Oh, really? The you can drive it right?"  
"Not exactly."  
"Then it's not yours. It belongs to Grif; therefore, it belongs to me."  
"Hey! We're not married yet!" Grif cuts in.  
"You've got to get used to it sooner or later," I look over at him.  
"T'is true."  
"Hey! That's my saying! I made it up!" He finally gets in the driver's seat and laughs at me. "See ya, Sarge," I say, and I salute him as Grif starts the jeep and we drive away.


	6. Into Dark

Red Base fades into the distance and I break the silence between us, "I forgot to add a smart comment to Tucker."  
"Too late to be a smart ass now," Grif replies.  
Now it's my turn to use my saying, "T'is true." I can tell as he looks at me, that underneath his helmet, he is smiling.  
We are headed down into the caves and out the entrance to above Blood Gulch. Grif's voice echoes into the caves, along with the sound of the two Warthogs' engines, "This is much easier than if we had been told to take the motorcycles."  
"I know, the bikes would have flipped on a rock!" my voice echoes after his. We come through and find that instead of going ahead, Tucker and Kaikaina have stopped for us.  
Tucker's voice comes over the radio, "Grif, you wanna take the lead?"  
"You'd better be able to keep up," he replies, looking at me. As he revs the engine, I give him a thumbs up. The tires squeal as we take off. I am clinging to the bar next to me. Grif looks as calm as can be, with both hands on the steering wheel.  
Tucker's Warthog rumbles behind us. He presses the gas harder and comes up beside us. He looks at us and then turns to Kaikaina. The next thing we know, she comes onto the radio, "Tucker says we should slow down some," she pauses and looks at him, "He says we're gonna waste all the gas."  
"Drop to sixty," I request. Both vehicles slow down. Tucker drops back behind us.  
We come to a forest and Grif stops. Tucker and Kaikaina stop next to us. They both hop out and head around to the driver's side of the jeep. "So what are we doing?" Tucker asks Grif.  
I had been surveying our surroundings and finally turn to look at Grif. He is staring at the sky. After a moment I ask, "Dex?"  
He finally looks at me and then turns to Tucker, "It's going to be dark soon. We should set up camp."  
"It is not," Tucker says, looking up, "We've got at least a couple of hours!"  
Grif shakes his head, "Look at the clouds. It's going to get dark here, fast." As Tucker tries to argue back, I watch the sky get whole shade darker.  
"I've been in a situation like this, I know-," Tucker was saying.  
"Dex is right," I interrupt him. All three of them look at me, only to find that I'm looking at the sky. They follow my gaze.  
"Oh, no," Kaikaina says just above a whisper.  
"Damn it," Tucker kicks the ground as he realizes he was wrong.  
We set up tents, which just happened to be in the backs of the Warthogs. By the time we are done, it is dark. Tucker and Kaikaina go to their tent and we go to ours. Their light goes out first.  
Grif takes off his helmet, "We have to sleep in our suits, there are no blankets." I nod and take off my helmet. He lays down and I lay down right next to him. Grif reaches over me and turns off the lantern. I have a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that something bad is going to happen.  
All I hear are normal forest sounds, and all I feel is Grif's breath on the back of my neck. I can't stand it anymore, I get up. "Ellee, where are you going?"  
I don't answer Grif, I just walk outside. I know my feeling has to deal with Grif. He comes out of the tent and walks up behind me. I turn to face him, "I'm a terrible Freelancer, Dex. I'm afraid of something, I don't know what and I shouldn't be."  
"I think the sketchy forest is messing with both of us," he tries to calm my nerves.  
"What do you-," I start to ask. A faint crack comes through the trees. "Did you hear that?" I look at Grif.  
"Hear what?" We both listen. "El, there's no one but the four of us. Maybe you heard Tucker or something." He pulls me in close to him and hugs me tightly. This time he hears it, another crack, loud and close-by.  
I turn around towards the noise as Grif looks toward it. You can't mistake that heavy breathing and white armor with a domed helmet for anyone else. "The Meta, Agent Maine," I whisper to myself.  
Grif hears me, "Son of a-" _Bam!  
_ A shot rings out through the air. The Meta drops to the ground and Tucker becomes visible, his Magnum drawn up. "Do you think he's dead?" Tucker asks.  
"No way. We've gotta get out of here while we can," I rush into action, even though I'm shaking uncontrollably.  
Grif puts on his helmet and takes the disassembled tent out of my hands, handing me my own helmet, "Ellee, go sit in the jeep."  
"He wasn't trying to kill me, Dex, he was after you," my face must show how terrified I am.  
"Ellee, I'm fine," he knows I'm right, "What if he wanted the A.I. from your suit?"  
"Dex, if I lose you I'm useless. If you lost me, I'd be back or you would still fight without me. He was going for a two-for-one." Hot tears stream down my face in the cold night, "Dex, you know I'm right."  
"Hey, you guys, you might want to get a move on. He was obviously after you guys," Tucker rushes us. I put my helmet on and Grif throws everything in the back of the Warthog. He gets in at last.  
"Just go!" Tucker yells to us, "I've got a sword!"  
I turn to Grif, despite the darkness of the situation I still find humor, "Don't all men?"  
He laughs, "Tucker's just got a special one."  
"That's for sure," I reply with a sigh. We speed through the forest finally. I mess with my helmet while Grif drives.  
"Why exactly was he after us?" Grif asks out of the blue.  
"I think we're both right and we're both wrong about who he was trying to kill." Grif looks at me. "Tucker must have heard the emergency transmission from Blue Base."  
Grif slows to a stop, "What?"  
"Caboose got left there alone. Do you know what's at Blue Base?"  
"El, I can't think straight right now." He puts his face into his hands.  
"I don't know if Tucker heard the last part of the message," I squeak out, a lump forming in my throat.  
"Ellee, calm down. Let's hear that message." He looks at me, he is just as tired and scared as me.


	7. Arrival

I play it over the radio, "This is Caboose of the Blue Team at Blood Gulch Outpost Alpha. I need to reach Tucker, Grif, Sister, and Elleon." There was an explosion, Simmons screaming, and Sarge saying 'give it here' that followed. Caboose's voice comes back over the radio, "It's the Meta! I'm trying to get to Red Base! He's coming for you guys!" Another long pause. "He's got the Epsilon Unit!" The transmission ends. Grif looks like he is about to panic, one hand on top of his head.  
"I don't want to be stuck in that thing!" I yell louder than I want to, unable to control the volume of my voice.  
The hum of an engine comes up behind us. "Go!" Kaikaina and Tucker scream. We go flying through the forest and almost straight into the canyon of Sidewinder; Grif braking just in time. Tucker swerves past us and jumps his Warthog onto a path high up in the canyon. We follow.  
We park in the closest base. Funny thing, it's Blue. I jump out of the Warthog and scream at Tucker, "Did you get it?!"  
"Get what?" He didn't hear it.  
"No!" I wail and fall to my knees.  
Grif rushes over to me, "Ellee, it's going to be okay."  
"Grif, what is she talking about?" Tucker steps back from us, terrified by the sounds I'm making.  
"You didn't hear the end of the transmission," he replies, holding me close to him as I sob onto his chest.  
"What?" Tucker is confused.  
I look up at Tucker and barely manage: "The Epsilon Unit."  
He can't hear my voice, I'm so quiet, "What did she just say?"  
"The Epsilon Unit. He's got the Epsilon Unit!" Grif shouts at him, standing up.  
"Damn it!" Tucker kicks a chunk of ice halfway across the canyon. _Crack!_ The sound echoes back to us.  
I immediately gather myself. "Don't let him know where we are!" I shoot up and grab onto the shoulder-plates of his armor.  
"Aren't we here for something?" Kaikaina asks finally.  
"Yeah, you're right Kaikaina. We came looking for evidence of Church. I need to get myself together and be like Tex. She had almost no emotions. She kept her fear locked up tight and to herself."  
"That's not you though Ellee," Grif states.  
"Close enough. I can use this to my advantage. We've got a mission to complete," I finalize and head into the base. I know Sirus is helping me feel this way.  
We walk all the way through until we get to the ladders. "Well this was a bust!" I punch the wall, leaving a dent.  
"Why?" Kaikaina asks.  
"Because I don't want to go up there and find Maine!"  
"We don't know that the Meta is up there for sure," Tucker argues.  
"We don't know that he's not!" I counter.  
"I'm not checking!" Grif declares, ending our discussion.  
"I'll go," Kaikaina states. We all turn and look at her. She's halfway up one of the ladders already.  
"Sis, no you're-," Grif starts.  
"-Not going alone," Tucker finishes.  
"No! She's not going at all! She's the only family I have left!" Grif protests.  
I clear my throat, "Aren't you forgetting about something? Or should I say someone?"  
He pulls me to him, "You know what I meant."  
"I do," I manage a small laugh.  
"We're going. We'll be fine," Tucker states, "I'll call you up for the all clear."  
"Fine," Grif leans into the back wall. They go up the ladder and disappear. We hear footsteps above us and then Tucker's voice muffled.  
"I want the Sniper Rifle!" Kaikaina must have said no. "I never get the Sniper Rifle!" Footsteps again. Tucker yells down the ladder, "Okay, you can come up now."


	8. Informalities

"Ellee you go first," Grif boosts me halfway up the ladder and then grabs on beneath me.  
I smile to myself, "You must like the view from down there."  
He laughs, "Don't make me fall off!"  
"Really you two?" I look up and Tucker is standing right above us.  
Grif leans out to see him, "Oh. Hey Tucker!"  
"Stop playing around and get up here!" Tucker orders.  
"When did you get so serious?" I ask as I drag myself onto the second floor.  
Grif pops up behind me, "Yeah, man! We just had a near death experience, like, five minutes ago."  
"I know, and if you'd like to avoid another one, we'd better get moving." He doesn't even look at us while he's talking, he just collects more ammo and loads his guns. We do the same after he finishes.  
"Should we chance the teleporter?" I ask him. An explosion goes off in the distance.  
"Yes, let's chance it," Grif answers. We all jump through, one at a time. Tucker, then me, then Grif, and last is Kaikaina.  
"Ow!" I yell when we get out, "That really does hurt!"  
"Well, at least it's freezing out here so our armor doesn't singe black," Tucker contributes.  
"That was so weird," Kaikaina finally appears behind the three of us.  
"Why did we bring her again?" I ask Grif.  
"Sarge's idea," he tells me. Realizing I was being sarcastic, he pushes me.  
"Knock it off!" Tucker is fed up, "This is serious!"  
"We're just being like you are normally. A traumatic experience can do that to you," I inform him.  
"We're trying to avoid number two!" Tucker grumbles.  
"You know, we're going to have to face him again. We've got to get the Epsilon Unit back," I confess at last.  
"I know! I just don't know why we're looking for Church if he's in that stupid thing!" he screams.  
Everyone takes a step back from Tucker. "The cold getting to ya Tucker?" I ask as I raise my Battle Rifle toward him.  
"What?" He looks at Grif, standing on my right side, and then Kaikaina, standing at Grif's right.  
She starts to speak and I sneak around behind Tucker while she has his full attention, "Tucker, I think we should-" _Crack._ Lights out.  
"Did you just melee him?" Kaikaina blinks.  
"Uh, yeah," I answer.  
"Why?" Grif chimes in, "Not that I'm questioning your motives."  
"First of all, Maine's nearby. Second, somehow he-," I kick Tucker, "Got an A.I. from the Meta stuck in his head," I relay upon them.  
"How'd you know that?" Kaikaina asks.  
"First of all, I'm not stupid, and I've got an A.I. too."  
Her mind is blown, "What? Does that mean you're crazy too?"  
To my discontent, I have to answer her, "No. My A.I. is in my suit. Just ask Dex."  
She turns to Grif and he sighs, "Yes, she's got an A.I., so what? She's got the Sigma A.I. and it's not evil and totally destructive like the rest." He mumbles under his breath, "Probably because he's such an asshole to me."


	9. AIs

Kaikaina has a thought, "Wait, if the Omega A.I.'s name is O'Malley, and the Gamma A.I.'s name is Gary, what's the Sigma A.I.'s name?"  
I groan, "Sirus. The Sigma A.I. is Sirus. And its symbol looks kind of like a capital 'E' because it's capital Sigma, not little Sigma. Any other A.I. questions before Tucker wakes up?"  
"No. I'm good," she simply states.  
"You sure?" I question her.  
"I'm sure," she gulps.  
"Alright then, I've got Tucker." I pick up his unconscious body and toss him up over my shoulder.  
"If I hadn't seen how you look, I'd think you were a guy. Wait, are you a guy?" Kaikaina is back to being herself, with absolutely no sanity, once again, without Tucker.  
"I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer." I look at Grif. He nods. We start moving toward Red Base again.  
As soon as we get inside, I drop Tucker. He groans, notifying us that he's regaining consciousness. I sigh and stretch, "That warmth feels nice." Grif elbows me in the side while my arms are up and I turn towards him.  
"What are we going to do with him?"  
Under my helmet I smile, "I need you two to hold him down, then I'm going to see if he's back and possibly get some answers."  
"Tucker? Tucker? Tucker, are you back?" I start questioning him as he regains consciousness.  
"Wh-What?" he groans.  
"Tucker? Tucker, is that you? Lavernius Tucker?" I ask him.  
"Oh, god, don't call me that. Where am I? Why are you holding me? At gunpoint?" He is confused but back.  
"Is the A.I. still there?" I press.  
"No? What A.I.? I'm not a Freelancer like you," he answers.  
"Okay, do you remember anything from the A.I.?" I desperately search for answers.  
"I keep hearing Captain Flowers' voice and I see the Epsilon Unit a lot. I saw this metal building that could be anywhere. I also remember the Meta with his voice back," he spills what he knows.  
"That's impossible! The Meta can't get his voice back!" I laugh at his last statement.  
"There's something else," he adds, "I can't remember it very clearly, but it was important." We all lean in toward him and I lower my gun.  
He continues,"It was something about you two-," he nods at me and Grif, "And Tex and Church. It had the Meta and Captain Flowers too. I remember they had the Epsilon Unit and Flowers was in charge. I only saw Tex and Church for a second so I'm guessing they have something to do with the Epsilon Unit." He finally finishes.  
I realize I've dropped my gun and Grif has his arm across my shoulders. He's looking at me. He lets go of Tucker and envelopes me in his arms and the orange metal of his suit. I can only see his helmet, and he's looking straight ahead as I cry silently on his shoulder. We never have enough information to save each other, and he's always the stable one in these situations.  
"Dex?" I gasp as I try to stop crying.  
"Yeah El?" he whispers.  
His voice is palliative so that I stop crying and regain some enthusiasm. "We are going to get the Epsilon Unit back, no matter what," I finally get out.  
He pulls me in tighter, "That's my girl."


End file.
